Public Release: 4-Nov-2014NREL And army validate energy savings for net zero energy installations
The US Army has partnered with the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to increase energy security through improved energy efficiency and optimized renewable energy strategies at nine installations in the Army's portfolio. If all nine of the Army Net Zero Energy Installation pilot sites achieve net zero energy, they will replace approximately 8 percent of the Army's current total installation energy use with renewable energy
US Department of Energy, US Department of Defense

Public Release: 3-Nov-2014 Nature NanotechnologyOutsmarting thermodynamics in self-assembly of nanostructures
Berkeley Lab researchers have achieved symmetry-breaking in a bulk metamaterial solution for the first time, a critical step game toward achieving new and exciting properties in metamaterials.
National Science Foundation, DOE/Office of Science

Public Release: 3-Nov-2014Combining 'Tinkertoy' materials with solar cells for increased photovoltaic efficiency
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have received a $1.2 million award from the US Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative to develop a technique that they believe will significantly improve the efficiencies of photovoltaic materials and help make solar electricity cost-competitive with other sources of energy.
DOE/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Public Release: 30-Oct-2014MINER shines in urban emergency response exercise
In a field test in downtown Chicago, Sandia National Laboratories' mobile imager of neutrons for emergency responders (MINER) system identified the exact location of a sealed laboratory radiation source through shielding and at a distance. MINER detects fast neutrons that emanate from special nuclear material and can discriminate the device signature from background radiation and to measure the spectrum of neutrons emitted by it.
DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE/Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Office of Research and Development

Public Release: 30-Oct-2014 ScienceLord of the microrings
Berkeley Lab researchers report a significant breakthrough in laser technology with the development of a unique microring laser cavity that can produce single-mode lasing on demand. This advance holds ramifications for a wide range of optoelectronic applications including metrology and interferometry, data storage and communications, and high-resolution spectroscopy.
Office of Naval Research

Public Release: 28-Oct-2014Creating the coldest cubic meter in the universe
As part of an international collaboration, Berkeley Lab scientists have helped create the coldest cubic meter in the universe. The cooled chamber -- roughly the size of a vending machine -- was chilled to 6 milliKelvin or -273.144 degrees Celsius in preparation for a forthcoming experiment that will study neutrinos, ghostlike particles that could hold the key to the existence of matter around us.
DOE Office of Science

Public Release: 27-Oct-2014 mBioBoosting biogasoline production in microbes
Researchers with the Joint BioEnergy Institute have identified microbial genes that can improve both the tolerance and the production of biogasoline in engineered strains of E. coli.
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 22-Oct-2014 Chemical Physical LettersNew insights on carbonic acid in water
A new study by Berkeley Lab researchers provides valuable new insight into aqueous carbonic acid with important implications for both geological and biological concerns.
DOE/Office of Science

Public Release: 22-Oct-2014Adaptive zoom riflescope prototype has push-button magnification
Sandia National Laboratories announces a prototype of a Rapid Adaptive Zoom for Assault Rifles that would enable the user to zoom in and out at the push of a button without having to remove their eyes from their rifles. The prototype uses a patented adaptive zoom that changes the focal length of the lenses by varying their curvature.

Public Release: 21-Oct-2014Ames Laboratory scientist receives award for advancing diversity
Javier Vela, scientist with the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and an assistant professor in chemistry at Iowa State University, has been selected as a 2014 recipient of the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in Chemical Sciences.

Public Release: 21-Oct-2014 Physical Review LettersCould I squeeze by you?
Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have developed deeper understanding of the ideal design for mesoporous nanoparticles used in catalytic reactions, such as hydrocarbon conversion to biofuels. The research will help determine the optimal diameter of channels within the nanoparticles to maximize catalytic output.
US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Public Release: 21-Oct-2014Solar energy prices see double-digit declines in 2013; Trend expected to continue
Distributed solar photovoltaic system prices dropped by 12-19 percent nationwide in 2013, according to the third edition of a jointly written report on PV pricing trends from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In addition, 2014 prices are expected to drop another 3-12 percent, depending on system location and market segment.
US Department of Energy

Public Release: 21-Oct-2014HP supercomputer at NREL garners top honor
A supercomputer created by Hewlett-Packard and the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory that uses warm water to cool its servers, and then re-uses that water to heat its building, has been honored as one of the top technological innovations of the year by R&D Magazine.
US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-Oct-2014 Journal of American Chemical SocietyDispelling a misconception about Mg-ion batteries
Berkeley Lab researchers, working under the JCESR Energy Hub, used supercomputer simulations to dispel a popular misconception about magnesium-ion batteries that should help advance the development of multivalent ion battery technology.
DOE/Office of Science

Public Release: 16-Oct-2014 ScienceProtons hog the momentum in neutron-rich nuclei
Protons and neutrons that have briefly paired up in the nucleus have higher-average momentum, leaving less for non-paired nucleons. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this phenomenon exists in nuclei heavier than carbon, including aluminum, iron and lead and also surprisingly allows a greater fraction of protons than neutrons to have high momentum in these neutron-rich nuclei, contrary to long-accepted theories and with implications for ultra-cold atomic gas systems and neutron stars.
DOE/Office of Science, National Science Foundation, Israel Science Foundation, Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Technologica, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Public Release: 9-Oct-2014 NatureDead star shines on
A supernova is the cataclysmic death of a star, but it seems its remnants shine on. Astronomers have found a pulsating, dead star beaming with the energy of about 10 million suns.

Public Release: 7-Oct-2014 The Plant CellResearchers pump up oil accumulation in plant leaves
A series of detailed genetic studies points scientists to a new way to dramatically increase the accumulation of oil in plant leaves, an abundant source of biomass for fuel production.
DOE/Office of Science

The Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.